Easily The Best Talent Show On TV (America's Got Talent)

Member Name: eyedo6789

Product:	America's Got Talent
Date:	02/04/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A Mad And Sometimes Brilliant Variety Of Different Acts

Disadvantages: None, It Is My Top Rated TV Talent Show

America's Got Talent is a television talent show shown on NBC in the United States and on ITV2 in The United Kingdom.

It is a throwback to the talent shows of the 1970s and 1980s when any type of variety act is given a shot at stardom. The eventual winner is said to pocket a cool One Million Dollars.

Acts that I have seen on the show have included singers, comedians, musicians, jugglers, impressionists, ballet dancers, dance troupes, gospel choirs, basketball demonstration teams, martial artists, ventriloquists, acrobats, strongmen, yodelers, whistlers, animal trainers, magicians, a pogo stick performer, sword swallowers, mime artists and beat boxers.

Perhaps the most memorable for me was "Bobby Badfingers"a man who played tunes by snapping his fingers. This may seem uninteresting but he got some big sounds out of his finger clicking , it was set to music and he had the charisma and stage act resembling a cross between Elvis Presley and Tom Jones. He didn't win the whole show but progressed a long way in it.

The show is a co production between Freemantle Media and Simon Cowell's Syco TV. Simon is also one of the four co-creators of it.

It is very similar to Britain's Got Talent. There are three judges who can hit their buzzers at any time during the act. If all three buzzers are depressed the 3 large neon red Xs above the contestant's head will have lit up and they have to abort the act at that moment.

The judges then give their comments and vote on the act. The act needs at least two "yes" scores to progress through to the next round to be held on a later show.

Crowd participation is encouraged and they will let the act know very quickly if they don't like it by booing and making thumbs down and other negative gestures.

The judges consist of David Hasselhoff who plays the role of the fair minded judge, Sharon Osbourne who plays the role of the judge with the soft spot for any act that is a very old person or a very camp performer or an act that is just dead old fashioned.

The third judge, cast in the role of the baddie is Piers Morgan who specializes in acerbic wit and doesn't pull any punches when criticizing something that he doesn't like. He is pretty much a Simon Cowellesque figure. Simon Cowell cannot be a judge on this show because he is contractually excluded from doing so by his contract as a judge on America Idol.

It also has a host who primarily stands in the wings and has a little chat before and after the acts go on. The show has been running since 2006 and in that series the legendary U.S. TV host Regis Philbin was the man; in 2007 and 2008 Jerry Springer took over and for 2009 it will be Nick Cannon who I have never heard of.

This is my favourite talent show because America is the best country in the world for producing talented (and wacky performers) and both types are encouraged on this programme and even when they crash and burn they are put down by the judges and audience in a fairly light hearted way.

Another good thing is that the programme when shown on ITV2 is neither plastered with long advertising breaks nor is it blemished by having too much "padding" in it. By padding I mean an extremely slow build up to each act taking the stage that is also laced with contestant sound bites such as "it means everything to me" and "this is my last shot".

I am looking forward to seeing the 2009 season on British TV.

Summary: A Superbly Produced Programme And Great Family Entertainment